King Arthur & the Matter of Britain

Everything that we know with certainty about the author of Le Morte Darthur is found in his book. He was called Thomas Malory, he was a knight and a prisoner, and he finished his work during the ninth year of King Edward IV's reign (4 March 1469 to 3 March 1470). He loved hunting, tournaments, and chivalry, had read widely in Arthurian romance, and had access to a splendid collection of such romances while he was writing." -- Peter J. C Field, "Sir Thomas Malory," The Arthurian Encyclopedia, Garland Press, 1986

The Morte

Caxton divided the text into twenty-one books, although the manuscript version makes it clear that Malory originally broke his work into eight books or "tales". The tales and their primary sources are:

The first tale, of the birth and crowning of Arthur, from the French Prose Merlin. (Compare the Middle English Prose Merlin.)

The second tale, of the invasion of France and Rome, from the English Alliterative Morte Arthure

The third tale, mostly concerning Lancelot, from the French prose Lancelot

The fourth tale, of Gawain's brother Gareth, based on a lost English poem

The fifth tale, of Tristram and Isolde, based on the French Prose Tristan

The sixth tale, of the coming of the Grail, based on the French Quest de Saint Graal

The seventh tale, of the romance of Lancelot and Guenivere, based mostly on the French Mort Artu and the English Stanzaic Le Morte Arthur

The eighth tale, of the discovery of Lancelot and Guenivere's adultery, and the battle between Mordred and Arthur, also from the French Mort Artu and the English Stanzaic Le Morte Arthur

William Caxton

Essays and Commentary